SHANGHAI -- Jaguar Land Rover blames its latest quarterly loss largely on "challenging market conditions in China," which include a rare decline in industrywide sales and the trade dispute between China and the United States. But those challenges are only part of the problem facing the company. What has rattled JLR's fortunes in China most are persistent woes with reliability and dependability. Pictured: Yang Jian is managing editor of Automotive News China.

Volkswagen, the largest vehicle brand in China, suffered its eighth consecutive monthly sales decline in January, dipping 3.1 percent from a year earlier to 287,900. VW Group blamed its flagship brand's extended sales fall on "an uncertain economic environment" in China that has made vehicle buyers reluctant to spend.

Nissan Motor Co. expects to increase sales in China 2.6 percent to more than 1.6 million this year. The Japanese brand disclosed the target after posting slightly weaker sales in January. Nissan's China deliveries slid 0.8 percent to 133,934 last month compared with January 2018.>> More

Chongqing Changan Automotive said it would offer discounts to buyers in rural areas, the first big Chinese automaker to do so after Beijing promised to roll out supportive polices for the world's largest auto market. The carmaker said in a statement that it would offer customers up to 22,000 yuan ($3,255.50) in subsidies on the Oshan series of multipurpose vehicles in large rural areas, without specifying where.>> More

Tesla is loading as many Model 3 sedans as it can onto vessels destined for China ahead of March 1, when a trade war truce between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping is scheduled to expire. Tesla CEO Elon Musk fears the two countries could ratchet tariffs back up, which would make the automaker's EVs more expensive in China and boost costs of key components the country sends to the company's U.S. assembly plant.>> More

Used-vehicle sales in China increased at a double-digit pace for the third straight year in 2018, advancing 11 percent year on year to more than 13.8 million. The growth was driven by used crossovers and SUVs, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association.